Avaldsnes himself confirms this on Wednesday. – The Norwegian Football Association has today, based on the club’s finances, withdrawn the license for Avaldsnes Topfotball. The consequence of this is that the club moves down to the 1st division, writes the club. Avaldsnes escaped with a scare earlier this year after they finished in 9th place in the Toppserien, but with a 3-2 victory on aggregate in the qualification over TIL 2020 from the 1st division, they stayed at Norway’s top level. But the troubled financial situation has sent them down to level two in Norwegian football. Spokesperson for the board of Avaldsnes, Aase Simonsen, says they are disappointed. – The players and the staff have done their job, but then we’re struggling financially. We thought we had solved the problem, so this came as a surprise, she says. – What made it not work? – We thought we had control, but an amount was misplaced, as far as I can tell, she says. The professional responsible for club licensing in the Norwegian Football Association, Rune Nordhaug, does not believe that an erroneously entered amount is the reason it did not work out for Avaldsnes. – The club had a requirement to present an account with positive equity, where the auditor had to confirm it for the club as a neutral third party. The club has not been able to provide that, he says, and continues: – I can never imagine that it is because a number has been put in the wrong place. Then there is something else behind it. It is not a number that has been put in the wrong place in an account, it is not, says Nordhaug. Arna-Bjørnar finished last in the Toppserien in the 2023 season, but have been offered Avaldsnes’ place in the Toppserien – and they have accepted the offer. This is confirmed by news from the club’s general manager Erik Mjelde. – Started to laugh news has been in contact with Avaldsnes player Selma Løvås and she explains that the message came as a shock. – We were in training, and got the message just now. We were down doing crossfit, and another injured person came and said: “Did you get the message?” We said no, and now realize that we have been relegated to the first division. People started laughing. It was absolutely terrible. I don’t know what to say, says Løvås to news. DISAPPOINTED: Selma Løvås (left) says that the news came as a shock to the players. Photo: Jan Kåre Ness / NTB She says that the players have been called to an urgent meeting at the club which will take place this afternoon. – I am completely in shock. Everything we’ve worked for. Been in qualifying and stood in it. Then we get that message when we thought we were going to relax, she explains. Løvås says that the club has called in a meeting, but that coach John Arne Riise will not be present. He is on holiday in Dubai, according to the player. Hanna Dahl has been captain of Avaldsnes and played in the club for eleven seasons, but announced a transfer to Rosenborg last week. She feels for the players who are now relegated. – What is happening now is absolutely terrible. It has been a difficult season for the club, but there is a big difference between playing in the Toppserien and the 1st division, says Dahl to news. Riise has not yet commented on the license news. He has a contract with Avaldsnes next season as well. Arna-Bjørnar: – No jubilation The general manager of Arna-Bjørnar, Erik Mjelde, confirms to news that they have the necessary finances to take over Avaldsnes’ place. – I think it is primarily sad. Football must be decided on the football field, but the economy is connected to that. I really feel for Avaldsnes, the players and the coaches and those who do a crazy job every single day, he says, and continues: – There is no cheering with me for this place right now, says Mjelde. FINISHED LAST: The Arna-Bjørnar players were disappointed after they were originally relegated from the Toppserien. But now they will have another chance at the top level in 2024. Photo: MIA SÆTRE STØRKSEN / news In Tromsø, the chairman of TIL 2020, Linda Wilhelmsen, says that the phone is running hot. – Then of course we can feel that it is a bit unfair, because we think that perhaps we should rather have played a qualifier against Arna-Bjørnar, and then look at which team had managed to take that place. But it is so early in that process. We have to do some research, but it’s clear, if the rules are like that, then they are like that. We also just have to deal with that, she says. She characterizes it as a dramatic situation. – I would have liked that situation to have been clarified before the qualifying matches began, she says. – Not a good mood According to the NFF, Avaldsnes drew up an action plan that showed how it would re-establish positive equity during 2023 through several sub-goals. Avaldsnes could not document positive equity as of 31 October, and therefore the club license board has withdrawn the licence. – We haven’t received enough income, and have too many expenses and then we can’t manage it, Endre Thorvaldsen, general manager of Avaldsnes, tells news. Avaldsnes has 14 days to appeal. But for now, the club cannot say whether they will appeal or not. – We are uncertain. We haven’t quite decided on that yet. It’s too early. I have to talk to the board and management, says Thorvaldsen. STAND UP: Avaldsnes hit TIL 2020 in the playoffs, although it was to no avail. Photo: Jan Kåre Ness / NTB He talks about the tense atmosphere inside the club. – It is bad. It says itself. The players have been told that they have been relegated, so there is not a good atmosphere. It still remains to be seen if they even manage to field a team in next season’s edition of the 1st division, says Thorvaldsen. – How likely is it that the club will get up and running again? – Now we have to map out the situation and see if it is possible. We are not in a position to answer that right now. SMELL: Avaldsnes will play in the 1st division next season. Photo: Jan Kåre Ness / NTB – Incredibly demanding Avaldsnes states in a press release published on the club’s Facebook page that several board members resigned from the board yesterday, and that they are now doing everything they can to keep both employees and players safe. – It is a disappointment for us who remain on the board that the club is relegating. The players have delivered, the staff have delivered – but it was the economy that we are unable to deliver on and which sends us into the 1st division. We have tried a lot, but it has been incredibly demanding financially all year, writes the club. General manager of Norsk Topfotball Women, Hege Jørgensen, says that they have been in a long dialogue with the club. – Avaldsnes has worked intensively to meet the requirements, but has not been able to do so. And then unfortunately this happens, says Jørgensen and adds: – We think it’s incredibly sad. Avaldsnes has been the different club, which has helped to push women’s football further. They have gone their own way and meant a lot to the development, says. The Karmøy club has been a fixture at the top level in Norway since they moved up from the 1st division in 2012. In the last two years, under John Arne Riise’s management, they have finished in second last place and thus had to play in the playoffs. Both seasons they stayed.
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Avaldsnes loses place in Toppserien – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
